7 Must-Have Apps for Toronto

This list is different. It only has apps that do something specific to living or visiting here: getting around the city, TTC/Go alerts, best restaurants, what to do in Toronto, planning a Saturday and more. Most of them are free.

1. TTC Watch for Toronto

If all you want to know is "where's my bus right now," TTC Watch has been doing exactly that for years. It pulls live GPS locations for TTC buses and streetcars from the City of Toronto's open data, and lets you pin the two or three stops you actually use so they're the first thing you see when you open it. Push notifications flag service interruptions on your routes, and there's an Apple Watch app for a quick wrist check instead of digging out your phone.

2. Maple Scan

With Trump's tariffs back in the news (a fresh 50% hit on Canadian goods landing August 19), and the "Buy Canadian" movement is going strong, Maple Scan lets you scan any product and see whether it's actually Canadian-owned and made. It flags which products carry tariffs, suggests Canadian alternatives on the spot, and shows a brand's ownership history. A must-have app in 2026.

3. Bike Share Toronto

Bike Share Toronto is run by the Toronto Parking Authority, so this is the actual city bike-share system. The network covers thousands of bikes across 1,000+ stations, and the app is how you use any of it: unlock a bike, check which nearby docks have bikes or open spots before you walk there, plan a route, and manage a pass or membership without carrying a fob.

4. blogTO

Transit apps get you places. blogTO helps you with places to go. It's one of Toronto's biggest local news and lifestyle platforms, and its app carries a lot of the "Best of Toronto" lists (restaurants, coffee shops, whatever's trending) and also reports some local news.

5. Toronto Public Library App

TPL isn't just big, it's the busiest public library system in North America, with 100 branches and more than 45 million visits a year between branches and online. The app covers the basics you'd expect (browsing, holds, due dates, registering for programs, paying fees), plus a few things only the app does: a digital library card you can add to Apple Wallet and use at self-checkout, a barcode scanner that tells you instantly if the library has a book in hand.

6. 311 Toronto

This is the app for when something's actually broken: a pothole, a downed tree, an off-leash dog complaint, an overflowing catch basin, or no heat in your apartment building. The 311 Toronto app covers more than 600 service request types, gives every report its own tracking number so you can follow up, and lets you pin the exact GPS location and attach a photo instead of trying to describe "near the curb by the gas station".

7. Toronto: Transit & Amenities

This one's ours.

Get TTC Watch, Transit, blogTo and much more in a single app. Most important things you need to get you through the day in Toronto: the nearest open washroom, public Wi-Fi, dog park, skating rink, library, independent groceries, or patio worth sitting at. There's a Tourist Mode for anyone new to the city, neighbourhood-level statistics, and home screen widgets so transit and traffic status are visible without opening the app.